


Asleep

by dahtwitchi



Series: Storehouse Treasure [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Change of priorities, M/M, Parenthood, Pre-Slash, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 01:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20751887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahtwitchi/pseuds/dahtwitchi
Summary: The complete silence was a curiosity, though, and he went from room to room, observing the aftermath of having a baby around. The sound of something small sliding over the floor had him turn toward the porch entrance, where he was met with the sight of the baby girl, dragging herself over the floor toward the doors out to the porch. Her eyes were filled with determined focus, and there was no grown up around to stop her.





	Asleep

**Author's Note:**

> ...it might make more sense in context of the rest of the works in the series. Also, baby girl haven't yet got her name here.

Madara scowled at the door.

So what if he visited again? He could if he wanted to. It was for a good cause, it was _reasonable_ to check in. Also, it was the home of his best friend, he could visit often. Also, the well-being of a baby was motive enough for stepping by with daily observances and warnings. Surely any responsible adult would do the same. Also-

No.

He couldn’t make it sound good even in his own head. Dropping by the Senju household more than once a day, most days, was showing more of his obsessive tendencies than he cared to admit to. 

His loud announcement of entering the household was met with silence at first, which had never made any difference as to whether he went in or not. The complete silence was a curiosity, though, and he went from room to room, observing the aftermath of having a baby around. The sound of something small sliding over the floor had him turn toward the porch entrance, where he was met with the sight of the baby girl, dragging herself over the floor toward the doors out to the porch. Her eyes were filled with determined focus, and there was no grown up around to stop her. The doors might be closed, but they weren’t locked, and there was a pond out there. 

He wasn't proud of the way glee was mixed up with the instant worry. 

But.

Well. 

This was proof of how irresponsible her guardian was! A clear show of him obviously unsuitable to care for a child! 

“Hello there, are you all alone, little lady?” Scooping her up, he smiled at her enthusiastic gurgling and drooling. “Let’s go find someone irresponsible for you, shall we?”

Righteous anger purred in the back of his mind, making itself comfortable by assuring himself how much better off she was in his arms. As went on to find a grown up, he felt her small hands tangle in his hair. She giggled in delight as she made a game of burrowing her face into his hair, only to back off as it tickled, then doing it again. How precious she was, far too important to be allowed to be in any danger. For too important to still be nameless.

Two rooms away, he found his target.

Tobirama was asleep on the couch, toys spread on the floor. 

Madara smiled in satisfaction. The man didn’t notice an enemy in the house, seemed to be so deeply asleep he didn’t even stir as Madara walked up to the couch. This was it. This was proof Tobirama had just left a baby to her own devise, with no safety measures or care. Leaning down to prod him awake, he was stopped by Hashirama tumbling through another door, out of breath and robes flowing with movement. The hair swung back and forth before he sagged, drooping heavily in relief against the doorpost as he saw the girl in Madara's arms. How Hashirama could be so silent while so dramatic was a mystery.

“Oh my _gods_, there you are! Where did you find her Madara? I've been looking like crazy, I cant believe how _mobile_ she is!” he rattled off in a low voice, glancing at his sleeping brother.

Madara didn't bother to keep his voice down as he answered, “Yes, well, one would think her _father_ should have taken preventative measures before conking out on the couch in the middle of the day.”

“What?” Hashirama was confused for a moment, before realisation hit home “Oh! No, I was babysitting, I was the one who was supposed to…” he looked ashamed for a moment, “I just… had a few things I had meant to do. Tobi was too tired to stay awake all day, and I thought I would be able to take care of her while I signed papers, but… yeah,” he mumbled, staring at the floor.

“Did he stay up to work all night, again?” Madara asked, anger boiling, making the girl squirm in his arms. He tried to tamp down on the hostility toward Tobirama, but it was hard even with the way it made the baby stressed. Tobirama had a child! Madara knew of at least three couples longing for children and prepared to take one in this very moment, and here Tobirama was, prioritising work over a child he insisted he should keep. The gall of him!

“Mhm, he was up all night,” Hashirama sighed, even as he smiled fondly at his younger brother.

Another check on the list Madara kept in his head. Not waking up when people were standing around arguing. Tobirama was a disgrace of a shinobi by now, really, to sleep through a hostile unable to keep his anger down _right beside him_.

“He shouldn't do that, I _tell_ you he is unsuitable!” Madara said, chin up, “It’s irresponsible as hell, insisting he, as a single man, should keep a baby when he just lump her off on others because he deem _work_ more important than her!”

The way the home went still was eerie. 

The sound of Tobirama’s body shifting in unease was loud, and the baby girl pressed closer to Madara.

It was easy, these days, to forget the power underneath the cheery persona of his friend. Seeing him in stillness was unusual, unnerving. Madara wasn't backing down, though. Hashirama knew of Madara’s opinions. He, too, often complained about Tobirama taking on too much work, complaining he forgot people in favour for paper. Surely both the Senju brothers should realise it was unprofessional to keeping the Hokage from his duties just to emergency baby sit, when Tobirama was exhausted enough from overworking himself that he slept like the dead. 

Hashirama took a deep breath, visibly relaxing himself by force of will.

“And whose fault is that?” 

“What?” Madara frowned, baffled by Hashirama's icy tone.

“He wouldn't work himself this hard it if it wasn't for you!” Hashirama growled, angry in a way Madara couldn't remember had ever been focused on _him_.

He angled his body away from Hashirama, putting himself between the baby and anger when she made distressed noises, curling further into his hair. 

“What are you getting at? How is it _my_ fault he care more about working than caring for his daugh-”

“He is trying to prove to _you_ he can have a child and still do his work! You are here, criticising him at every turn, Madara, it's _enough_ now! If he doesn't work as hard as before, you say that's proof he can't have her, but if he try to spend more time working, that's no good either!” 

Madara stared, shocked, at the hissing Hashirama. The baby’s squirming and whining made him rock back and forth, curbing his initial need to react with shouts and offended defence.

“Madara, he is working himself horribly trying to prove he can _do_ this. Why are you coming into my home, paining my brother so?”

The feeling tightening in his stomach was uncomfortable, almost sending his head into vertigo. He hugged the girl closer as she continued to wriggle and whine. He felt as if his world was turned on its ear, reality skewed into something he hadn't seen before. Hashirama didn’t stop to let him try and catch up, though.

“If you truly care about the baby, like you claim, how can you push her father so much and not lift a finger to actually make his life easier for her sake?” 

Swallowing, Madara could feel shame creeping through his body as hot iron burning his conscience. Hashirama’s words hit home too hard. He didn't do much to make anything better at the moment. Izuna had all but taken over the clan, insistent to carve a place for them in the village. Hashirama was the leader, growing into the role a little bit more every day, struggling with administrative duties, but _trying_. 

And Tobirama. 

Tobirama, the annoying stuck up asshole that acted as if no one was good enough. Who spent his nights trying to make up for what Hashirama wasn’t able to handle to make the village grow. Who found a baby girl in a burnt down settlement, and simply could not let her go.

Turning his head to breathe into the baby's hair, he wondered when Hashirama had managed to see into the human heart of a matter rather than the grand plans. It was Madara’s place, not Hashirama’s, not Tobirama’s. It was true, if the baby was the most important objective, she was more important than any disagreements with her guardian. The fact that Madara doubted Tobirama able be a good parent was less important than the child’s well-being. 

Also. The idea of someone coming into his home to treat Izuna like this? No matter if Izuna had behaved exemplary or not? It was a wonder he was welcome at all, still.

“You-” he cleared his throat as the voice came out hoarse “- you had paperwork you needed done, you said?”

Hashirama seemed perplexed as he nodded.

“You go do that then. I might as well do something useful, as you said. I'll take care of her for a while,” he mumbled, closing his eyes for a heartbeat before putting the shame away to be replaced with determination.

As Hashirama nodded, Madara smiled. He was going to stop spending (as much) energy on what Tobirama did or didn’t do. There were more important people to make an effort for. 

-

Tobirama always had a hard time shaking off the grogginess after waking up from a blackout after too many all-nighters. It didn’t stop him from taking a flying leap off of the couch in search for his little girl after his immediate sensor assessment of the house had told him there were no one but himself, her, and _Madara_. No Hashirama, no Mito, no Touka.

He still felt sluggish as he rounded the corner to the small living room, and there was a dreamlike quality to the scene in front of him,

The sight of the Uchiha clan head sitting on the floor, playing with a happily gurgling baby, was… unexpectedly sweet. Whether he’d leave Tobirama unscathed was quite a different question, and his heart raced as Madara glanced at him. His body tensed, and he wished he was more awake for whatever rant he’d get to hear this time.

“Hashirama was busy,” Madara informed quietly, “I took over the most important of his duties, obviously. I hope you don’t mind,” he said as he turned back to the toys they were playing with.

There was no chance for Tobirama to feel properly awake when the world wasn’t behaving as it should. The stress of none of his family around to babysit as promised diminished into a sense of relief, though. Thinking about it, with Madara’s tenacious campaign for her welfare, and his capabilities as a shinobi, there would be few who could keep her safer. 

“My only worry would be you trying to turn her against me, but I believe she is a bit too young for that,” he stated, offering a backwards acceptance for the situation.

“...I could use the sharingan to turn her mind,” Madara mused, as hesitant about the tentative lack of hostility between them as Tobirama was.

The reaction to the idea of using the sharingan had Tobirama on the edge again, made him want to spring forward and grab his baby girl away. The situation did not call for neither offence nor defence, though, and he took his time to calm his heart rate and collect his thoughts. Or, a least what he could manage before caffeine.

“On a baby,” Tobirama finally answered, eyebrows raised. “Really?”

“No,” he admitted, with a fond smile at the girl.

“Well then. I guess it's time to feed her,” Tobirama sighed, repressing a yawn and scrubbing his face and hair vigorously as he tried to get a grip. 

Madara frowned, pondering life choices. If she was to have a good future, he couldn't allow the lack of self care her father showed. 

“When did you last eat?” He questioned, getting up from the floor. “And I'm talking about a proper meal.”

“No, don’t even try to answer,” he grumbled as Tobirama just gave him a bewildered stare. “You sit down with her, I’ll fix something up, it’s not as if anyone in this house should be allowed into a kitchen anyway,” he continued to grumble as he passed the confused Senju.

It was hours before Madara returned home. There was the nagging feeling something had gone very right and very wrong today, but he shoved to the side the mixed feelings about whatever possible truce he and Tobirama hadn’t spoken about. The only result of importance was the fact he had left a content baby behind, and fully intended to come back tomorrow to make sure it continued to be so. And the day after. And the day after that.

**Author's Note:**

> Do note. As a parent, you will never ever be able to 100% be around. You will also fall asleep at inconvenient times. Madara is living in a fantasy world if he think it's unavoidable x'D Parenting babies and growing children is an exercise in far too many things to fear! 
> 
> We aren't magically able to go beyond our human restrictions, or suddenly become and then stay efficient 24/7 beings just because we have a little one or a few, but most damn well try. 
> 
> And that's the reason why you find yourself dead asleep at times you hadn't planned, or making sleep deprived decisions for the next decade x3
> 
> Also, I'm a tired parent who didn't have patience for beta, please feel free to point out glaring errors x3


End file.
